Introducing A. Rotz
Houston’s break-out artist talks growing up in Green Bay and Race in America.
There is something very refreshing about Green Bay raised hip hop artist, A. Rotz. We would have never guessed that hip hop had an influence in the temperature-challenged city most known for their Wisconsin cheese and the football team- whose controversial play cheated Dez Bryant’ and America’s team from their quest to the Superbowl… A. Rotz is bringing new attention to Green Bay that has nothing to do with referees and passes. Managed by Theo Roberts of Texas’ New Brand Management, The current Houston resident is attracting a growing audience with his effortlessly good artistry. We like A. Rotz because his music and delivery speaks for itself and he’s not trying to be something he’s not. He’s proud to be a suburban kid from middle-America who was influenced by hip hop through his mother who is a big Tupac fan. That’s how enormous hip hop has become, impacting every corner of the world and creating social change in the process. When we first heard A. Rotz single, “Dying to say” we liked that it sparked conversation about race, inequality and the state of America. https://m.soundcloud.com/a-rotz/dying-to-say They are a lot of young and old people who share A. Rotz’ feelings towards those issues and unlike some people who might ignore that racism and privilege does exist, A. Rotz tackles our reality. In “Bright Lights” A. Rotz incorporates his Houston influence and serves us a feel good, Friday-night type of song with high energy and a tempo reminiscent of a Drake and Kanye collabo. https://soundcloud.com/a-rotz/bright-lights We had the chance to sit down with A. Rotz recently and get to know Houston’s new break-out artist.
Check out the interview and just remember you read it hear first:
How long have you been making music? 6 years
How many songs /albums have you released to date? 50 songs/1 mixtape (A New Beginning) and 1 EP (A.Rotz The Artist The E.P.)
Can you tell us about your latest release and the background and inspirations behind it? “Dying To Say” is the latest single released, off of the upcoming mixtape “Rebuilt”. Dying to say relates my thoughts on all the controversy happening around the U.S. and the world today. It was inspired by situations like the mike brown case, sandy hook, my personal experiences, and many others.
“Bright Lights” was also recently released, off of the upcoming mixtape “Rebuilt”. Born in Wisconsin and living in Houston, bright lights was inspired by the fast-paced, unpredictable, big city life that comes with the music industry.
How have you ended up in the music industry? It’s a long story, but to sum it up; music has been the biggest part of my life since i was a kid, when i was in high school i began to make my own music as a hobby. That quickly turned from a hobby into a passion and from a passion into a real career. My freshman year of college consisted of making music, going to parties, and making more music. The songs i made in college would get played at the house parties around campus and that’s where i found a lot of my first true fans. When i came back to green bay the summer after that year i put together a team and hit the streets promoting my music. We put on 2 backyard shows that nearly got shutdown by the police, gave out over 2,000 mixtapes that we burned individually on our own computers, created, designed, and sold hundreds of our own A.Rotz branded t-shirts, shot music videos with a canon camera we purchased with our team money, worked social media until we had a solid following, opened for mainstream artists in front of thousands of people, and showed a genuine appreciation and love to all of the fans. All of this lead to a die-hard/loyal fan base and some really great people taking notice in what we were doing. Essentially that’s what stemmed my career in the music industry. Now i’m in Houston working with some of the dopest people from the north and the south and it’s truly a blessing.
What do you think of the music industry in 2015? I think the music industry is headed in the right direction. I’ve witnessed a lot of great underground artists take off in 2014 and i’ve seen a huge change in the way the industry deals with independent artists. With the internet, social media, and the huge communication advancements it’s made it really easy to promote your own music and make a name without the help of the label at the early stages. This is great for an independent artist like me and we’ve taken full advantage of every avenue.
Who do you think is the most influential artist? There are almost too many artist that really influenced me, and still do, to answer this one… But if i had to, i’d say either J.Cole or Kanye West; the warm up was stuck in my cd player for 2 years straight. To this day it is still one of my favorite mixtapes. The word-play, flow, style, vibe and raw lyrical talent of those songs still motivate me to be better. Kanye West’s Graduation is also one of my favorite projects, from production to the entire vibe, he’s one of the greatest of my time and that’s all that needs to be said.
Who have you collaborated with so far in your career? I’ve worked with artists from Florida, California, Texas, and Maryland and of course Wisco. I wont name any specifics yet, but that’ll be made clear when that music starts dropping.
Dead or alive, who would be your dream collaboration? A record produced by Kanye West | with a feature from Frank Ocean | mixed by Kendrick Lamar’s engineer Ali
What was the first album you bought? Young Jeezy – Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101.
What’s your favorite song at the moment? I don’t listen to a lot of music outside of the project I’ve been working on right now, but the song i play daily to get hyped in the morning is Young Jeezy ft. Akon – Been Getting Money.
Who is the most influential artist now, and 10 years ago? I’d say one of the most influential artists out now is Drake. He’s been relevant for so long and i’m not sure if anyone doesn’t know that name. 10 years ago i’d have to say Lil Wayne. He was one of the most influential artists of that entire decade.
If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your draw? J.Cole – The Warm Up
How do you think you differ from other artists? I’ll let my music speak on that.
What is your favorite saying? When you want to be successful as bad as you want to breathe… Then you will be successful.
What other hobbies or interests do you have? I’ve been playing basketball for as long as I’ve been listening to music. I play ball every week and i also skateboard on the weekends. I’m interested in business, i love going to movies, and i don’t think i could ever get enough Cajun food in my diet. I also have a pitbull/chocolate lab puppy that’s been destroying my apartment for the last 3 months. He’s still the little homie though.
Do you have any tattoos or piercings? Nope
Tell us more about your upcoming project? The upcoming project “Rebuilt” has been in the making for over a year. It was recorded at the Madison Media Institute in Madison, WI and engineered by a Young Prodegy and a good friend of mine Sedrick Hibbler. The project expresses my thoughts, feels, views, and vibes on life and everything else that comes with it. There are songs for the underground hip hop heads, songs for the club, and songs for the females. I’ve spent a lot of time making sure this would be a complete project and it really came together exactly how i envisioned it. This project has no features on it. I really want the people to hear and understand me for who i am as an artist and a person and i think the best way to do that is to give them an entire mixtape with exactly that on it. I’ve recently dropped multiple songs off the project, some with music videos, including; dying to say, bright lights, vibe, and east side cypher. The release date has not been announced yet, but just know it’s coming soon.
What’s in the pipeline after this project? Everything. I’m blessed to be working in houston with some amazing people right now. Expect more music, more singles, more mixtapes, more albums, more videos, more pictures, more features, more shows, more exposure, more appreciation to the dopest fans i could ask for, and like i said before.. More everything
Thank you for your time and may you carry on making dope, fresh music.
I appreciate your time as well, thanks for the love and support and keep grinding!! And shout-out to all of my fans, your apart of my family and my team and you’re the reason i’m able to live this dream. Thank you!!!!
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